


Moving Forward

by SilverDragonMS



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AUs with my headcanons, Alternate Universe - Swapfell, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Angst probably, Author vaguely knows the direction of the story, Mild Language, Monster Dust (Undertale), Monsters on the Surface, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prejudice Against Monsters (Undertale), Specifically Fell-verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-01-08 14:53:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12256578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverDragonMS/pseuds/SilverDragonMS
Summary: How long had we been on the surface? Maybe a few months, but unlike the other counterparts, us from the Fell-verses were less accepted.-----Though the monsters are now above ground, tensions run high in the Fell-verse community. The guards are running drills, despite the humans calling for a disbanding of all monster military forces. For Rus, everything seems to be getting worse instead of better, and the new hostility that’s brewing towards the Tale-verses... Something’s got to give.





	1. Moving Forward

How long had we been on the surface? Maybe a few months, but unlike the other counterparts, us from the Fell-verses were less accepted. Soon after reaching sunlight, we saw the now rising sun cast a golden glow on the city in the distance, it was truly a breath-taking sight, one that long overdue. It was obvious that it wouldn’t last once humans dressed in protective gear came running up the mountain, and rounded us all up. The monsters still in the caves were soon to follow, and I could feel tension in the air from magic attacks getting charged. Many monsters were anticipating a fight once reaching the surface, but one look from our Queen, and everything stopped. The humans took that as a sign of surrender, and we were herded down the mountain pass. I managed to stay close to sans and the kid, keeping an eye on the humans that had weapons out.

  
We were shoved into abandoned buildings like animals into cages, but our Queen forbid any and all complaints. The kid ended up leaving once the humans left, but I never found out if they made it back to the old man. Sans got cabin fever pretty quickly, in fact, many monsters wanted out shortly after being left in the building. Once the Queen talked to the human leaders days later, we gained better housing, but it was almost like we never left the Underground. We were packed into one or two room apartments, in the same closed off area as the other Fell-verse monsters.

  
That's about when I met my brother's double. The small town-area we had ended up being divided in half, with my underground inhabiting one side of it. I was looking for Muffet’s, though I wasn’t sure if she could even set up shop anywhere in this place. I must have gone too far since I found a place called Grillby’s, but it wasn’t the same odd pink flame from Coldsea behind the counter. Instead, there was a dark blue flame monster wearing an expensive looking leather jacket and shades, and even more surprising, the place was a bar.

  
The place had an odd atmosphere to it, plenty of patrons were in various stages of drunkenness with one monster slumped over the bar, and that was the other sans. I took the open seat next to him and ordered a few drinks, one for me and the other for the sans. That’s about when we ended up talking.

  
“So yer the other Paps, huh?” He questioned peering at me from his folded up arms, only a red eyelight being visible.

  
“Seems so.”

  
“Heh. Not much of a talker, huh?” He picked up the glass and sniffed it before smirking and lifting it towards me, “Thanks for the booze anyway.”

  
I gave a shrug and lifted my own glass to his in a cheers then taking a drink, immediately sputtering and coughing in surprise at the strong bitter taste of it. The sans started laughing pretty hard after that, and then he suggested nicknames for us to use so as to not get confused with our brothers and the “stupid vanilla verses”. He called me Rus and he was called Crim.

  
Crim was more similar to me than my bro, a bit lazy and anxious, but we understood each other. He had more of a temper, especially since we started meeting up. We mostly went there to drink and complain, though Crim did most, if not all, of the complaining. According to him, the “vanilla verses” arrived on the surface first and set a good example that quickly allowed them to travel around, but that didn’t apply to them when they came up to the surface.  


“So, uh, what ended up happening with you?” I asked, causing Crim to look at me questioningly, “You said that the Tale-verses got here with no issues?”  


“Yeah, it was fucken ridiculous. We got out maybe two months after the Classics, but a few weeks after Swaps.” Crim took a swig of his beer then continued.  


“We got ta see the sun, sure, but then when we started walkin’ down, humans got all confused and then started askin’ questions none of us could answer. Some monsters got mad, and you know, Fells get violent when mad, so tha’s what happened.” Crim paused to sigh, getting an almost vulnerable look to his eyes that showed pain and hurt. “Everyone got herded into this shithole, and both the kid and Pap ended up going missing for a few days. I’ve only ever been that scared once before in my life, and ‘s not one I ever wanted ta revisit. Thankfully, everything got smoothed over somewhat quick, and Pap an’ I found each other again, but no one’s a hundred percent sure where the kid went.”  


“That’s rough buddy,” I didn’t know how else to respond, and to think that could have been my first few days on the surface. It was a frightening thought.  


After a few months in our dreary and cramped homes, both Fell-verse rulers announced a new policy that was approved by the humans, a sort of ID card that we had to earn, which would allow Fell-monsters into the monster villages around Mt. Ebott. That made quite a few monsters angry, including sans. Us being on the surface seemed to make him more irritable, maybe it was our conditions or maybe it was the lack of progress. Crim said the same was true for his brother, and that he wasn’t sure if it was a sign or not. It maybe didn’t help that the Royal Guards became a single force, making both captains work together along with both of our brothers. Crim seemed to agree.

  
I just focused on getting that card for myself, which was made easier thanks to my background in science and engineering. Skilled monsters got priority in the first few interviews, which happened to include the Undyne from my world and Crim’s Alphys. Everyone was told to change their names to make the process easier, so I thanked Crim under my breath and chose the name Rus Aster. I only needed to give some sort of background on myself and show off a bit, fix a few things here and there, and then an application was submitted shortly afterwards.  


I began to avoid bringing this up with sans, mostly because he rejoined the guard with the other Fell monsters. I figured he'd be annoyed or even angry with how I just accepted the human’s terms, but it's not like he was in charge of my decisions. Once my application was accepted a few weeks later and I had the ID card safely pocketed, Crim and I went out for celebratory drinks. He was surprisingly happy with how I got one so quickly, and said that he tried to get one as well, but the humans were a bit scared of him and his temper, so he wasn't going to get any privileges any time soon. I felt bad for the guy, but he seemed to just accept his fate and told me to go enjoy myself where the Tale-verse monsters were.  


The next day was when I left for the actual monster city, once sans left for his guard meeting I packed a bag and headed out. The border gate wasn't anything special, just a tall wire fence that had barbed wire at the top of it. I just pulled out my ID and let them check my bag, which only had a few essentials and monster brand cigarettes. They let me go through without very much trouble, and left me to do whatever I wanted pretty much. For an hour or so, I just walked around, getting a few stares and pointing fingers, but it wasn't too hard to ignore them. I found a Muffet's not long after, and upon entering the room was dead quiet. I just walked over to the counter and sat down, waiting to order. Then next to me, I heard practically my voice.  


"Hey buddy, whatcha doin here?" I looked over to get a plume of smoke in face, which brought a few shocked gasps from the other customers. I waved the smoke away to see one of my doubles, dressed in a bright orange hoodie and cargo shorts.  


I gave a small laugh.  


"Can't a guy just get some Muffet's?"  


He narrowed his eyes at me, then turned to Muffet who was standing a bit off to the side.  


"Whatever the guy wants, it's on me." He said, then turned back to me with a lazy smirk on his face, "Welcome to Underswap Muffet's, Fell-verse me. Name's Orange."  


"Thanks... I'm called Rus."  


That's the first time I met one of the Tale-verse doubles. We talked about different things, ranging from our brothers to our doubles to our differences. Orange seemed oddly accepting of me, considering our differences, but he listened and knew when to move onto something else when I got uncomfortable. It was probably one of the more pleasant conversations I’ve had, maybe in part to the calm and carefree attitude he had. It was nice.  


“Hey, d’you wanna wander around or something?” Orange said, making me look behind us. Unsurprisingly, a few monsters made eye contact and retreated to their conversations and food.  


“...Yeah, might be fun.” I replied, earning a laugh.  


“C’mon, I gotta show ya the best hangouts ‘round here.” Orange grabbed my hand and began pulling me to my feet and out the door.  


It was colder now and approaching night, though the sun was still out and casting red-orange light across the sky. It was honestly nicer to look at here than where the Fell section was.  


“Hey, buddy,” I was taken away from my thoughts to see Orange pointing behind him, further down the street. “If you wanna watch the sky for stars, Mt. Ebott’s the way to go.”  


He started walking and I followed behind, and it lapsed into companionable silence. Walking up the path changed the chatter and noise of the town to crickets and night birds, making everything seem serene and peaceful. We reached the opening to the place where we all first experienced the surface, and Orange beckoned to sit down next to him. For awhile, it was silent between us, and Orange took the time to lay back and get comfortable. I was a little on edge, as it was still the first time I was out of the Fell-verse area, and being cautious was drilled into us, but the calm was nice.  


After awhile, Orange sat up and tapped my shoulder, startling me until he gestured upwards with a lazy smile on his face. I looked up and saw stars. Millions and billions of them. It was nothing like those science texts sans would read and get excited over, and even better than the small cavern holes I’d see around the forest. I kind of wished that I could’ve taken sans here with me, he would’ve loved it. It's a bit strange to say, but my first time out of that prison the humans call a town, this was very liberating.  


When it started getting late, I traded numbers with Orange and left a few G on the counter. The trek back was easy, maybe a few stares and whispering in my direction, but that was all. Once again, I showed off my ID and let them check my bag, gaining entry to the compound. Returning home however, I knew sans would not be happy.  


"Where were you," sans spoke.  


I had just gotten in and set my bag down, only to see sans, standing with his arms crossed and a disappointed look on his face.  


"I was hanging out around this place," I responded, removing my shoes and stepping into the front room. “Why? Does it matter for some reason?"  


He rolled his eyes.  


“It matters if you wind up dusted somewhere and I’m not aware of it.”  


“Bro, it’s fine. We’re on the surface now, and the monsters here have enough sense not to kill each other now that the humans can find us.” I walked closer as I spoke, but it seemed like Sans wasn’t going to believe any of it. “We can relax up here bro, like when we were kids.”  


“I don’t know what fairy tale universe you’re talking about, Papyrus.” He had a disgusted look on his face, like I had offended him by bringing up relaxing, “There was never a time to relax, and if you think I’m going to stoop so low as to obey the humans and play along with their stupid demands, then I guess you never really knew me.”  


“Sans, I never said obey the humans.” I tried to reason with him, “Just, get the ID card, okay? Then we can be out of this dump and live somewhere quieter, away from the other monsters. Wouldn’t that be nice?”  


He didn’t answer, instead just shooting me an annoyed glare before he walked off to his room. Once he left, I settled down on the couch, looking at the ceiling as I got lost in my thoughts. This place wasn’t good for us, hell, anywhere near the Fell-verses was bad. Maybe one day I’ll get sans to agree to leave this godforsaken place. It was a nice thought as I drifted off.


	2. I found myself in a world I of hurt and I’m looking for a friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rus talks to Crim and has a good time  
> Then he meets Sans and has a bad time

I heard the sounds of sans throwing breakfast together before I completely regained consciousness, and only fully woke up once the front door slammed shut. Of course he’d avoid trying to talk. After last night, I wouldn’t’ve been surprised if he only made breakfast for himself. Opening my sockets revealed that to not be the case. He left a plate of some sort of burnt meat on my chest along with a note that said he left for a royal guard thing.

  
Once whatever the heck breakfast was supposed to be was gone, I made sure my clothes were moderately clean and grabbed my leather jacket before heading out, making sure to lock our door before shortcutting to the ground-floor.

  
The sky was gray for once when I exited the building, and it was cold too. Maybe it’d snow like Crim had said it did in his version of Dustout. Outside the building, there seemed to be no one about, like the monsters were back to avoiding each other and hiding for fear of being dusted. I had hoped that ‘kill or be killed’ mentality would’ve stayed Underground, but it seems that you just can’t change monsters. There was a sense of unease as I walked outside, nerves making magic gather at my fingers waiting for the silence to break.

  
Walking through empty streets was eerie to say the least, but about halfway down a street of apartments, I saw Crim coming out of one of the buildings. Safety in numbers, yeah?

  
“‘ey Rus, good ta see ‘m not the only lazybones around.” He said as I began to walk beside him to the end of the street.

  
“heh. Like you’d be the only one,” I chuckled, “there’s a whole multiverse out there, bro.”

  
“Ha ha ha. Yer fuckin’ hilarious. Should be a comedian.” Crim rolled his eyes. Silence filled the space for a while, both of us cautiously eyeing the alleyways as we walked. I could tell that he was getting uncomfortable as well, and figured that changing locations would be a better idea.

  
“So… Wanna head to Grillby’s?” I asked, catching his attention by motioning to the empty streets.

  
He nodded and grabbed my arm, immediately shortcutting us to the bar.

  
“‘Ey Grillbz, two of our usual drinks an’ put it on my tab.” Crim calls out to the flame, who nods and then disappears into the back.

  
We take our seats at the bar, sitting quietly for a bit. It’s pretty early in the day still, so there aren’t very many people inside, just that drunk bunny from Crim’s verse.

  
“So,“ Crim starts off, seeming satisfied with the lack of eavesdroppers, “How was ‘nilla verse?”

  
“Peaceful,” I smiled, “I was actually thinking of going back there today, ya know, just to look around.”

  
“Ya don say...” Crim trails off, “‘Ave you met any o’ us yet?”

  
“Yea, and so far the me I met was as soft as you could imagine,” I rested my chin in my hand, “was a bit weird tho. Seemed to be fine with me hanging out near him ‘stead of glaring like the rest of the Tale-monsters.”

  
Grillby then appeared, drinks in hand. Once they were passed out, he walked back to the other side of the counter, wiping glasses but still listening. At least he and Crim were close, made him less likely to share our conversations.

  
“Not suprisin’. ‘Nilla-me actually tolerated us fer awhile, ‘fore we got locked up.” Crim said taking a sip of his firewhiskey spiked mustard.

  
“Really? I thought you said that you got locked up immediately.”

  
“Nah, we made it a few days ‘fore a monster freaked an’ got us closed off. Anyway, speaking of ‘nilla-me an’ Tale-verse,” he then turns back with a grin, “Think ya could get me a taste a that Tale-verse Grillby’s?”

  
“Seriously? Of course that’s what you’d ask for!” I laugh, “Of all the stuff you could ask me to get you from the Tale side, you went with that? C’mon, Crim.”

  
“‘Ey, don’ laugh at me! I know ya went an’ grabbed Muffet’s firs’ thing!” He yells, trying to push me out of my seat. “Ya ain't got a reason ta judge.”

  
“Aww, don’t be like that ya grump,” I push back, grabbing Crim around the neck and pushing my closed fist onto his head with a laugh.

  
“Alrigh’, I get it ya smartass! Stop fuckin’ noogieing me!” He struggles, but he’s definitely laughing too. I relent and stop my onslaught and laughter as the lighthearted moment fades. I sip at my drink, appreciating the familiar taste of Hard Spider Cider and BBQ.

  
“Heh, don’ get too used to it.” Crim gestured with his glass,“All a this? With the way ‘Dyne an yer Alphys ‘re runnin’ things? We’ll probably get shoved right back inta the mountain.”

  
“I really hope it doesn’t come to that.” I sigh. The conversation moves on after that, and an hour or so later, I'm back at the apartment gathering up my bag to take across the border.

  
It's not difficult to get to the gatehouse by any means, and easier when you can shortcut your way there. The humans look and see me coming before I enter and demand my ID before anything else. As they check my bag, I see that there's more guards then normal.

  
‘Must’ve been an attempt to break through.’

  
Thankfully, the process took only a few minutes, then they opened the gates. Stepping outside was like stepping into cleaner and nicer version of the Fell compound, except everyone stares at you as you walk through, whispering to each other about how you shouldn’t be here and that monsters shouldn’t be able to get LoVe, they’re made of kindness and all that BS.

  
This was only my second time through the town, but already I was getting tired of being gawked at and pointed out. I spotted Muffet’s first and decided to stop there for a bit, mostly to avoid the other monsters. Unlike outside, they all ignored me as I entered, Muffet being the only one to walk towards me after I sat at the bar.

  
“Jus’ some Spider Cider, please. I’ve got the gold to pay ya for yesterday,” I said as I opened my bag and took out the wallet, only for her to stop me.

  
“It’s fine. Orange seemed to like you, and any friend of his is a friend of mine,” She smiled, her other arms grabbing a pack from behind her. “I’m assuming you haven’t heard of the recent news involving the ID cards?”

  
“No, should I be worried?” I could feel a flash of anxiety flare up as I asked.

  
“It’s nothing bad now,” she said, patting my hand as she finished bagging the drinks, “just that all Tale-monsters with businesses or members of the guard are in charge of making sure you stay in line. Doing so, the humans will allow a few of you to pass through the border.”

  
I nodded, and thanked her as I left the building. I chance to leave, huh. Seemed too good to be true, and yet I wanted to try and get that privilege as unlikely as it seemed.

  
I began walking through the less crowded streets, heading closer to where the original monsters settled. I figured that’s where Grillby’s would be, and thankfully it was a good guess as I came upon a bright orange sign on an old looking building.

  
I walked closer and heard laughter and loud talking from within, the complete opposite of what Crim and I would hear at his Grillby’s. It was strange, and yet I wanted that sort of interaction. Sadly, as I walked in, the noise faded and uneasy silence greeted me. I felt wrong, like I wasn’t wanted, but why was this different than Tale-Muffet’s? I continued to the bar, sitting beside a familiar looking skeleton.

  
“Uh, two burgers.” I almost whispered to the orange flame, he seemed to hear me and walked into the back.

  
The silence persisted, and I had never wanted to run like I did now.

  
“Heh, hey buddy. You seem a lil’ rattled, there.”

  
I quickly turned to the skeleton beside me who was nursing a ketchup bottle as he eyed me through narrowed sockets.

  
“Heh, and you seem to just be skull-king there.” I responded.

  
He chuckled a bit, but then grew quiet. I felt him watching me, waiting for me to do something, but I just waited for Grillby to get back so I could pay and leave. Once I had paid however, sans followed me out and stopped me once we had left the view of the front window.

  
“So, buddy... You’re from the Fell-side, yeah? Let me make this quite clear to ya,” he spoke. “You start flinging yer magic or threaten anyone, then buddy,” he shortcutted in front of me, grabbing me by the shirt and pulling me down to his level, facing the pitch black void of his sockets.

  
“I ‘ l l m a k e y o u r e g r e t l e a v i n g t h a t m o u n t a i n .”

  
I nodded fast and he seemed satisfied, waving me off as if he didn’t just threaten me. That part seemed more fitting of a Fell monster than a Tale monster. Though it was nothing more than a warning, I kept glancing behind, making sure that I wasn't going to be attacked.

  
Walking back home was the same as going in, but I dreaded it more for some reason. After passing through the gate, I shortcutted to Fell Grillby’s to pass off the food, then headed straight to the apartment. Sans was home and pacing the floor once I came in.

  
“WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!” Sans screamed as I stepped inside.

  
“I was out,” I didn’t feel the need to tell him where I’ve been, not really any of his business. I took my time taking off my shoes and coat, then sat on the couch to face whatever sans was going to yell about.

  
“I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU, ASSHOLE! I THOUGHT YOU’D DUSTED!” He yelled and continued to pace, for once his emotions weren’t hidden, and while I understood his worry I only sighed.

  
“Sans, we’re on the surface. Dusting isn’t accepted here, and no one wants to risk getting thrown back in the mountain.”  
He stopped pacing and instead turned on me, grabbing me by the shirt with a glare.

  
“You think any of those miserable whelps actually care where we are? Today the entire guard had to be mobilized because a monster went full Feral.” He said, “If you think it's any different, then you are sorely mistaken. In fact, it’s fucking worse here than underground.” Sans sighed before shoving me back towards the couch.

  
“Tomorrow, you’re coming to guard training. No exceptions.”

  
He stomped off to his room, and I laid on the couch to sleep. Hopefully I’ll be mentally prepared to face the captains, but not knowing what’ll happen might be a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the heck is the opposite of Snowdin? And Waterfall, for that matter. That and the alcohol thing were my biggest problems writing this chapter.  
> Bonus stuff: Muffet wasn’t gonna mention the ID card thing, but I thought it’d move the story along.   
> I wrote the bar scene first because I wanted some friendship stuff between the guys. Crim and Rus deserve each other, honestly.  
> Also, sans wasn’t gonna scare Rus, but I thought it’d fit. After all, we don’t really know all the details about how Underfell got separated, now do we.


	3. Bleed me out, leave me bruised and broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rus goes to the guard training  
> Crim is there too, and they both have training

“PAPYRUS! GET UP!”

I jolted awake, getting a piece of toast shoved into my face. I saw Sans was ready for the day, already in his black guard armor with his boots and scarf already on. He was impatiently tapping his foot, glaring at me with piercing red eyelights.

“Get a move on, Papyrus. Alphys won’t be pleased if we end up running late.”

I hurriedly ate and watched Sans move through the kitchen, clattering dishes and running water following his movements. I stood up and checked my clothes, deciding that they were still generally clean, not that I had much to change into, and grabbed my jacket and boots to put on. Sans stood next to me and looked annoyed with what I was wearing, rolling his eyes and sighing, then opening the door.

Sans practically dragged me out, making sure to lock the door behind us. I followed behind him in silence with my eyes trained on our surroundings. Last night’s talk of Ferals had my mind alight, didn’t help that there wasn’t anyone around again, save for the two of us.

Soon, I spotted Crim being led around by who could only be his brother. Black guard armor covered his chest, lower arms and lower legs, black chainmail covered the other parts. The only thing that wasn’t black was the frayed red scarf peeking out from the chest armor, and the fiery red eye lights that watched us as we approached.

Sans stopped in front of him, right hand gesturing for me to stop as well. Their eye lights raked over each other’s armor, then moved to Crim and I, as though we were being judged. Sans and him nodded to each other before they continued on, with Crim and I trailing behind them.

It was quiet, again with no one outside, but continuing on it began to feel more oppressive than eerie and soon the crashing of metal and yelling of orders filled the silence. A large open field had been cleared and marked the edge of the compound, several guards were running drills while the captains watched the proceedings from the center of the field. Our brothers walked straight towards the captains, and we followed behind.

“About time you two showed up.” Alphys said, drawing the other captain’s attention.

Sans saluted, his right hand in a fist next to the Delta Rune on his armor. Crim’s bro did the same, and the two captains smiled as they led our bros to the field where the other guards were training. The Undyne stopped for a moment, then turned back to Crim and I.

“Actually, you two have training as well. Go to the far right of the field, there are monsters waiting for you.”

“wait, we’ve got training? since when?” Crim looked surprised, and Undyne shrugged in response.

“King Asgore’s orders.” she shrugged, “Wants the judges to get good at fighting as well for one reason or another.”

Undyne turned to go towards our brothers and Alphys, but spoke once again, “He also said that you need to ‘Judge’ them. Have fun.”

Once Undyne was further away, I started walking towards the area she talked about, Crim followed, and it wasn’t long until the noises of fighting faded to the background while two figures became visible near the edge of the fence.

The closer I was, the more I felt their killing intent. It had been awhile since I’ve been near someone with that, the faltering steps behind me must mean that Crim also hadn’t felt it in awhile. I looked back for a moment and saw Crim was starting to sweat excess magic, I figured I was starting to do so as well.

“one a them’s a knightknight, can feel ‘er from ‘ere.” Crim spoke.

“should i be worried?” I asked him, a movement of fabric was my answer.

“jus’ watch ‘er carefully. she’s my verse.” I nodded.

The two monsters were a few feet away, perfectly in range of my attacks, when Crim growled.

“fuckin’ madjick.”

Those must’ve been the madjick words, the two monsters started moving towards us and the knightknight seemed especially jittery at the sight of us.

“Kehehe, late late late!” Madjick laughed, his whole body shaking, “Next time, watch your time!”

Crim sighed. “les’ jus’ get this over with.” He summoned several bone shards to his hands, like spiked gloves.

I threw a bone aimed at KnightKnight, only for her to pull out her staff to block it. Madjick laughed, parting his cloak for his magic orbs to hover at his sides. Crim rushed him, fists covered in small pieces of bone, trying to strike the magician down. The orbs took every hit, Madjick laughing with every miss.

I jumped back before Knightknight could slam her weapon into me, barely escaping range. She looked up at me and chuckled, white mist escaping her helmet.

“Don’t look away from an opponent.” she spoke lowly, then lurched forward with a growl.

She jabbed me with her elbow, knocking me back and I threw a sharpened bone in retaliation, smacking her in the helmet. She screeched and jabbed her weapon at me, missing most of her hits.

“take yer own advice, ya bitch!” Crim yelled. He rushed her, aiming a blow to her torso and got her to turn on him. I looked around, catching chuckles and chattering from Madjick.

“Looky! Looky! What are you looking for!” I turned my head up and fired a bone at him. He laughed when it sailed by him, then fired his own attacks at me.

“Failure! Can’t protect anyone right!” He screamed, I ducked and stumbled backwards as I fired more attacks his way.

I heard a yell from Crim and turned in time to see him skid across the ground. The Knightknight was laughing, puffing out more mist with a red glow coming from her helmet. I fired a few bones at the approaching Madjick, he laughed and floated to the Knightknight’s side.

“Fall down, fall down~!” he practically sang.

I frantically CHECKed Crim, hoping the monster was wrong.

 

Crimson (UF Sans)  
  
LV 10  
HP 2/5  
EXP 400  
  
*can’t take much more of this  
*not dead yet

 

I could feel the relief as my rib cage loosened. I got up and tapped Crim’s shoulder, resulting in a groan as he got up.

“fuckin’ bitch. i dun think she’ll stay this coherent fer long,” he breathed out, heavily, “checked ‘er. she’s one kill away from turnin’.”

Madjick’s cackling got louder and he rushed us, firing bullets from the orbs. We both dodged, and I glanced to the other foe and saw her watching us through her helmet, the red glow starting to steady.

“Dust and Dust and Dust!” he cackled, “All you’ll see is red and dust!”

“Shut th’ fuck up!” Crim launched a bone at madjick, aiming for his face only for him to dodge out of the way. I looked on in horror as the bone hit knightknight square in the chest and all went silent. Crim shuffled backwards towards me as the knightknight began to shake and growl lowly. Madjick started to cackle again.

“She can’t hear you now!” he looked at me directly, a near manic smile on his face and his red eyes visible under his hat. “You won’t be able to reach them!”

Knightknight launched her weapon and immediately dusted Madjick. I could feel her killing intent increase at the gain of EXP, and her armor practically shone red with corrupted magic. I flinched and instinctively CHECKed her.

 

Knightknight (UF)

LV 16  
HP 1900/2600  
EXP 3000

*FERAL!  
*Wants you dusted at her feet.

 

“We might need to change tactics.” I spoke, watching Knightknight look right at me and stoop down.

“Ya think?” Crim replied, and we shortcutted away to avoid her charging at us, Morningstar raised.

She stopped at the spot that we had been and turned right to where we appeared. The face on her armor seemed to grin, exhaustion had caught up with us. Then I got an idea, a last resort that I hadn’t used before, at least, not that I could remember beyond a feeling of deja vu. I bent down and my eye started to glow.

“it’s a beautiful day outside,” I spoke, gathering magic into my hands. Crim seemed to catch on and his grin stretched as his eye began to glow.  
“ravens ‘re crowing.” Crim continued, intent coming off of him in waves.“dust is blowing”

“On days like these, monsters like you,” we spoke together, charged magic filling the air as intent poured out of us in waves. “Should be rotting in hell.”

Gaster Blasters materialized behind us, two each, but it was enough to make her pause in rushing us. Just enough time for them to gather enough magic to fire directly at her, dusting her instantly.

The EXP gain was startling, probably because it’d been so long since I’d gained any.

“Should we head back?” I asked, he nodded in response.

Hours had passed since we had gone to fight those two, and the soldiers had begun to leave the field. Crim and I stopped at the entrance of the field looking for our brothers. One of the monsters pointed out a tent off to the side where the captains were meeting with their second-in-commands. We stood outside, the tent was zippered shut once we got there, so we sat down to the sides of the entrance of it and I began to listen in.

“So what is it that we need to do?” I heard my bro ask.

“For now, lay low and stay compliant. Training will be once a week at this field for the foreseeable future.” The Undyne said, and there were sounds of movement. “We’ll let you know if the plans change.”

Crim stood as everyone exited the tent, his brother grabbing him by the hood and pulling him along to their home. Sans then stood in front of me, arms crossed and waiting for me to start moving. I did what he wanted and followed him back home. I could feel the gazes of the captains on my back the whole way down the street.  
Once we got back, I hung up my jacket and took off my shoes, then heard Sans lock the door.

“You aren’t going out tonight. We need to talk. First, you might want to sit down.”  
I sighed and nodded, taking a seat on the couch with Sans following and sitting down next to me.

“Hold still, I’m going to heal you.” A green glow encased his hand as he touched my arm. Slowly, the aftermath of the fight vanished and I felt much more at ease. He retracted his hand after a while and placed both in his lap.

“Brother… Alphys is instating a rule for the sentries. If you managed to get through the border, you have to start observing the monsters on the other side.” Sans looked up at me. “You understand, don’t you. You can’t get all chummy with the enemy.”  
“Sans,” I sighed, rubbing my forehead, “the enemy? Really?”

“Yes really. And I know you got that card in the mail, I’m not that stupid you know.” Sans huffed, “You can’t trust those monsters, Papyrus. They’re the reason we’re stuck here!”

“Okay, sans, i’ll ‘observe’.” I agreed, if only to avoid the rest of this conversation.

Sans smiled in response, “I’m glad you’re willing to listen to orders.” He leaned close, but then paused to look out around the small living room. Then he leaned his head onto my side and wrapped his arms around me. I smiled and withdrew my hands from his hold to hug him back.

We sat like that for awhile, just taking comfort in each other. Then sans let go of me and stood up once I let go, brushing himself off. He turned back to me, face once again serious and cold. If only he didn’t have to look like that.

“Good night Papyrus. Tomorrow I expect you to start observing the Tale-verse. Find out more about them, then report back to me.”

I nodded, and laid back on the couch as he headed to his room. Once his door closed I sighed. What was I going to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I good at writing fight scenes? *shrug* Am I good at writing fluff? *shrug* I tried though.  
> Bonus stuff: Rus and Crim were going to originally just sit there on the field and watch everything, but that’d be boring, so fight instead.  
> I was torn on how to end this chapter. Original idea was to have Rus get drunk at Muffet’s then go home with Orange, but I liked the idea of the bros having a little heart-to-heart I guess. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. ^u^


	4. Tell me, tell me what I did to end up in a ditch like this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rus goes over to the Tale-verse side and begins to "observe"   
> Then he meets a version of brother

I woke-up to Sans dropping my bag onto my chest and my coat onto my face. I held back most of the swearing on my mind with a groan, eventually getting up and pulling my phone out to see the time. It was 8:00. I looked to see my brother watching me and tapping his foot impatiently with his arms crossed over his chest.  
“You’re going to go to the other side today. Report back whatever you see whilst there, got it?” Sans spoke.

“Yeah yeah. I got it.” I yawned. Pocketing my phone and putting on my coat, I slung my bag over my shoulder. “Whelp, see ya later.”

Sans huffed in annoyance, then waved me off. I mock saluted and exited our apartment, for once seeing monsters out and about. Outside the building there were quite a few monsters, all of them watching the others around them. It was what I was used to, and the familiarity was comforting in a way. Of course there was no talking or any noise aside from the hurried feet of the other monsters, no one can really tell who might be listening.

Pulling out my phone, I sent a quick text to Crim saying that I’d be on the Tale side for awhile. He responded quickly saying “don’t die asshole”. I laughed and affirmed that I wouldn’t die, calling him an asshole as well. Crim seemed to be fine after the fiasco from yesterday’s training, which made me relieved. That stupid Madjick’s words were unsettling, never mind the rumor that those monsters could see the fates of monsters they checked. I dropped the phone back into my pocket and took a shortcut to the gatehouse. 

I handed over my stuff to be searched, along with the ID card. A minute later, I was on my way to the Tale side and once again, several monsters watched me and whispered amongst themselves as I passed through. This time, I didn’t have any particular direction to go in except to “observe”. Unsure of where to go, I wandered over to Muffet’s and once again, Orange was absent from the bar stool I saw him at before. I headed to the barstool I sat at, my face must’ve shown disappointment, because soon Muffet walked over to me with a small smile and looked apologetic.

“Sorry dearie~ You just missed him. His brother dragged him out of here a few minutes ago.” Muffet said. I shrugged.

“Not a big deal, really. Jus’ thought I’d stop by.” I took a seat at the bar and watched Muffet work, sneaking glances behind me at the other patrons. It was more comfortable in here this time, maybe I was used to the occasional glances from the patrons or I had just come here enough to relax easily. 

Muffet kept looking at me as she boxed up sweets and baked goods, and once she finished, one of her arms grabbed and handed over to me a bottle of Cider. I looked over to her to see her smiling at my confusion.

“I’ll add it to his tab, don’t worry.” she laughed, and I chuckled a little as well. Yeah, this place was nice. 

Then the calm was broken by the door smacking against the wall and the sound of panting from the entryway. I looked back at the door to see a small skeleton dressed in blue heading for the counter. I watched, sipping on my Cider as the skeleton talked to Muffet.

“YOU *huff* WOULDN’T HAPPEN TO KNOW*huff* IF MY BROTHER CAME BACK HERE, WOULD YOU?” he said, and Muffet looked a bit confused.

“You left with him, dear. I haven’t seen him since then.” Muffet looked at him with concern. “Why? Did he leave somewhere?”

“YES! THAT LAZYBONES WAS AT WORK BUT THEN JUST LEFT FOR NO REASON AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE HE IS!” He practically screamed.

I leaned away from him and watched him pace around and grumble for a bit. I was amused by him, until he looked up at me and made eye contact. His blue eye lights shifted to stars, and he giggled. I felt uneasy, then he grabbed my arm and pulled me up and out the door. 

“hey, hey, whoa. what are you doing?!” I raised my voice, trying to get him to stop dragging me around.

“MWEH-HEH-HEH!” he laughed, and just kept dragging me. I was starting to get annoyed, so I did what any reasonable person would do and smacked his arm until he let go. Then I fell onto my ass and he ran ahead towards another monster. I sighed with relief and rubbed my elbow, a little sore from being grabbed. Then I saw a hand in front of me and extended. I looked up and saw a very smug looking Orange.

“i see you’ve met my bro.” he chuckled as I grabbed his hand and helped me up, a whoopee cushion making noise as I let go of his hand. I laughed in surprise and he looked quite proud of himself as he took the gag out of his hand to put in the front pocket of his hoodie.

“BROTHER, THAT’S VERY DISGUSTING AND YOU KNOW IT!” His brother sounded annoyed, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch as if he was fighting back his amusement. 

“oh yeah, rus, this little blueberry here is my brother. his name is Blue, courtesy of Sans.” Orange said, and pushed Blue towards me. He stuck out his hand and I shook it. 

“IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU, RUS! I HOPE YOU AREN’T MAD ABOUT THE WHOLE DRAGGING THING.” Blue seemed to be apologetic, so I shrugged.

“”M used to it, my bro used to do that to me all the time when he was younger.”

He smiled and firmly shook my hand, which ended up shocking me. I yanked my hand back as he laughed.

“SHOCK-BUZZER IN THE HAND! NOW THAT’S AN APPROPRIATE JAPE, BROTHER! MWEH-HEH-HEH!” Blue looked proud of himself, as he stuck his hands on his hips. Orange had a lazy smile on his face as he gave a thumbs up to his brother.

“That was a good one bro.” He said, while Blue carefully removed the buzzer from his glove and put it in a pocket on his pants. Then he stopped for a moment before looking up.

“OH WAIT, I JUST REMEMBERED!” Blue turned back to Orange and yanked him down to his level by his hoodie strings, and he didn’t even flinch while I took a step back. “WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AT WORK, THEN YOU JUST WERE GONE WHEN I WENT TO CHECK ON YOU!”

Orange just smiled and patted his bro’s head.

“i was at work, bro. Queenie called me up for a bit to go over some stuff, so i was probably doing that when you came by.” 

“OH, WELL THAT MAKES SENSE THEN.” Blue let go of his brother and started smiling again. “ANYWAY, RUS, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? I DID SORTA DRAG YOU FROM MUFFET’S, SORRY, BUT YOU CAN COME WITH ME AND I CAN SHOW YOU AROUND?”

I couldn’t help but grin, so I shrugged and agreed to go with him. Blue’s eyelights seemed to turn into stars as he grabbed my hand and pulled my away. Orange just waved with a knowing smirk on his face, like an asshole. I flipped him off only to get jerked forwards and into Blue’s back. I could hear Orange laugh from down the street.

“SO, FELL-BROTHER! WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO FIRST? WE COULD GO SEE THE CAPITAL, OR THE GUARD BUILDING, OR THE-”

“I’m gonna just stop ya right there.” Blue ended up stopping and looking up at me curiously, and I managed to save my arm from his grasp. “I’m just here for a visit, ya know, looking around and seeing the sights?” 

He put a hand on his chin and looked down as if thinking over my words, then he looked up and smiled.

“OKAY, LET’S GO TO THE SHOP DISTRICT THEN. WE DON’T HAVE TO BUY ANYTHING, BUT THAT’LL BE A GOOD SIGHTSEEING THING, RIGHT?”

I shrugged.

“Sure, let’s do that.” I held out my hand, and Blue grabbed and this time didn’t drag me to where we were heading. 

No one seemed to look our way or whisper to each as I passed by, it was a welcome change from what normally happened. Blue babbled on about the stores and such that were on the street we were heading to. I wasn’t completely listening, but he seemed happy to share with me. 

Once we arrived, Blue seemed to say hello to most every monster we passed, and that in turn made me smile at how happy he was. Then as we walked around I felt a small bit of guilt, Blue really seemed like a younger version of my own brother, one who wasn’t corrupted by the Fell-verse we came from. It soured the experience of wandering around and seeing the shops that were on the street, every interaction he had made my mind place a happier version of my brother. 

It began to get late as Blue showed me one of the last shops where a bright yellow flame elemental made sweets and a sweet firewhiskey, which I ended up buying to take back to Crim whenever I end up leaving. Blue seemed to realize the time and tapped my on the arm as we left the shop.

“HEY RUS? DO YOU HAVE TO GO HOME AFTER THIS?” He even looked a little sad at the thought of needing to say goodbye.

“Uh, why do you ask?” 

“W-WELL, I KNOW WE JUST MET, BUT YOU’RE A FRIEND OF MY BROTHER AND I JUST THOUGHT MAYBE YOU COULD SPEND THE NIGHT AT OUR PLACE SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO TRY GOING THROUGH THE GATEHOUSE AT NIGHT.” 

It was a simple request and it wasn’t like I really had anywhere to stay, so I accepted his offer. He even looked like he was glowing with excitement. I followed behind him this time instead of risking getting dragged around. Blue marched in front of me and led me straight to the housing area for the Swap monsters. It was quiet and peaceful, each house looked personalized, with Blue leading me to one that had a small garden out front and fairy lights strung up on the sides of the walkway. The mailbox even said “Orange and Blue”. Blue opened the door and directed me inside, telling me to take off my shoes and leave them by the door.   
“YOU DON’T MIND TACOS FOR DINNER DO YOU?” Blue asked.

“I don’t really care either way.” I responded, and watched Blue head through a walkway into what I assumed was the kitchen. 

Once he was out of sight, I sat down on their faded red couch and pulled out my phone to text sans. 

‘I have a place to stay, i can probably stay awhile and get more info.’

He responded quickly.

‘Good. I’ll let you know when Alphys wants her info.’

I locked my phone with a sigh.

“What’s wrong, buddy?”

I flinched and turned towards the door to see Orange looking at me with a lazy grin, but I saw a hint of worry in his gaze. I shrugged him off.

“Just telling my bro that I’ll be here for the night. You don’t mind, do ya?”

“It’s fine,” Orange said, then his eyes lost their lidded gaze and he looked a bit excited. “hey depending on how long yer staying, I could show you the best spots in town. Trust me, you won’t regret it.”  
“Sounds like fun.” I agreed.

Blue walked in afterwards with a smile on his face.

“SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT DINNER IS READY.” He gestured to the kitchen, Orange headed there first and I followed behind. 

The table had several bowls of various toppings, all infused with magic. I grabbed my plate which had a soft taco shell on it, and began to put various toppings inside of it. Once I had enough, I sat down with the other two and listened to them as they talked. It was all friendly banter and it was void of any negative comments or jabs at each other. I finished eating and began to put my plate in the sink, only to be stopped by Blue.

“GUESTS DON’T HAVE TO CLEAN UP, YOU CAN SIT AT THE TABLE IF YOU’D LIKE OR YOU COULD WAIT IN THE LIVING ROOM? IT’LL ONLY TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO FINISH CLEANING.”

I nodded and sat next to Orange, watching Blue as he cleaned up. Once he finished, Orange got up and headed to the living room, sitting on the floor in front of the couch. I ended up on the couch, laying down and taking up most of the room. Blue walked in and huffed out a breath with false annoyance.

“I think I’m gonna head off to bed, bro. Thanks for dinner.” Orange said, standing up and walking over to Blue to hug him. Then, Orange walked upstairs to his room, I heard the door shut behind him.

“ARE YOU GONNA BE FINE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH? SORRY WE DON’T HAVE A GUEST ROOM.” Blue looked apologetic as he spoke.

“Don’t worry too much Blue. It’s not the first time I’ve slept on the couch.”

“WELL, IF YOU’RE SURE. GOODNIGHT RUS!” Blue responded, and headed upstairs himself. 

I got up to turn off the lights near me, then laid back down on the couch and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't exactly what I wanted as far as the ending goes. And it may have taken three months instead of two, but here you go.  
> Extra stuff: I'm not used to writing Blue, but just as much of a little shit as his brother. Blue also wasn't supposed to show up until next chapter.  
> I was going to originally have Orange show Rus around, but Blue took over.  
> I should also mention, this chapter's title is rushed and doesn't fit as well as I wanted it to, but it can be taken a few ways so it's probably fine.


	5. If only I knew then all the things that I know now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rus wakes up at the Swap bros house. He hangs out with Blue and meets Papyrus, then things get difficult.

I woke up to the sound of quiet humming and something popping as it cooked. Whatever it was smelled wonderful, so I stood and headed for the kitchen. 

Blue was fluttering around the kitchen, moving between the stove and table where a few plates were set up. Blue seemed to notice me immediately, turning his bright delights on me with a smile.

“GOOD MORNING RUS!” he practically shouted, “BREAKFAST WILL BE READY SHORTLY. DO YOU WANT ANYTHING TO DRINK? COFFEE? TEA?”

“sure, i’ll take coffee.” I replied with a shrug, sitting down to watch Blue move through the kitchen. He was at my side quickly with a mug and a pot full of black coffee, and poured me some before going back to the stove and taking a spatula to a pan. 

“so uh, blue,” he hummed in acknowledgment, “where’d you learn how ta cook?”

“OH, CAPTAIN ALPHYS TAUGHT ME!” he responded, and seemed happy as he continued “THOUGH I GUESS SHE’S CALLED FORTITUDE NOW.” 

“Huh,” I leaned towards him on my hand, watching him work. “Sounds familiar.”

“OH, DID YOUR BROTHER LEARN COOKING FROM THE GUARD CAPTAIN, TOO?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at me, and I smiled at his question.

“Eh, sorta. He got a few recipes from the cap’n, but never learned from ‘er.” I replied, and Blue hummed in understanding.

“WELL, I GUESS I DIDN’T LEARN JUST FROM ALPHYS.” he spoke as his gaze focused on the pan in front of him. “PAPY-- ER, ORANGE’S FRIEND ASGORE TAUGHT ME SOME STUFF WHEN WE GOT OUR HOUSES ON THE SURFACE.”

Blue started to place the food on the table when I heard the stairs creak overhead. I turned around to see Orange walking over, wearing nothing but a tanktop and short shorts. I couldn’t help but smirk at him as he entered the room. When he finally looked up and noticed my staring, he waggled his eyebrow bones causing me to laugh loudly. Blue turned around to see what I was laughing about and when he spotted Orange he gave a long-suffering sigh.

“PAPY, WHY MUST YOU DO THIS?” 

“‘S comfortable bro.” he shrugged, making Blue sigh once again. 

I laughed and Orange seemed pleased with himself as he sat down across from me. Even Blue had a half-smile as he finished plating breakfast and setting it down on the table. We ate in companionable silence.

When breakfast was over, Orange stood and gestured for me to follow him outside. I stood, picking up my empty plate and handing it to Blue. Following Orange outside, we stood on the porch in silence for awhile.

“So, uh… d’you know how long you’re going to stay?” he asked. I paused for a moment, staring into nothing as I thought.

“Not sure yet.” I shrugged, then looked over to him, with a browbone raised. “Why? D’ya really want me gone that badly.”

Orange started to backpedal, stammering about how ‘that wasn’t what I meant’, and I just laughed, knocking a shoulder into him in a joking manner. Orange stepped back with a hand on his chest, looking offended. 

“ARE YOU DONE WITH YOUR LITTLE PRIVATE TALK NOW?” 

I flinched, turning around quickly to see Blue leaning out of the doorway looking to Orange questioningly. He shrugged, and Blue sighed.

“DON’T FORGET, YOU HAVE TO MEET WITH QUEEN TORIEL TODAY. AND DON’T YOU HAVE WORK?” 

“Heh, yeah good point.” Orange replied, walking over to the sidewalk. He turned back to the house with a smirk, saluting with two fingers to his forehead. “see ya both later tonight.”

Then Orange shortcutted away, I could recognize the faint smell of ozone in the air. Blue tapped me on the shoulder, and I looked back to him to see him smiling.

“Hey, Do You Wanna See Something Cool?” he asked, fidgeting in place as he talked. “It’s In The Garage.”

I agreed, and followed him to the side of the house through a door, which revealed a shiny black motorcycle. My expression must have been surprised because Blue turned to me with stars in his eyes.

“PAPY AND I SAVED UP FOR THIS, AND I CAN’T WAIT TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE IT!” Blue was practically bouncing as he talked. “I’M THINKING OF GETTING IT PAINTED BLUE, THEN AFTER THAT I JUST HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL I’M ALLOWED TO GO TO THE HUMAN TOWNS TO TAKE A FEW TESTS. THEN I GET TO RIDE THIS!”

“that’s pretty cool.” I responded, and I couldn’t help but to smile at his enthusiasm. In a way, he reminded me of sans when he was younger, before all the fights and violence changed the both of us… 

“You Alright There, Rus?” Blue snapped me out of my thoughts, a concerned look on his face. “You Sort Of Zoned Out, And Then You Looked Sad.”

“‘m fine. just thinkin’,” I gave an easy smile, but he didn’t seem convinced.

“If You’re Sure…” he trailed off, but then came over to me and grabbed my arm with a smile on his face. “I KNOW WHAT WE SHOULD DO! MY FRIEND IS OFF OF WORK TODAY, WE COULD SHOW YOU AROUND!”

I chuckled at his excitement, and he seemed to take that as an okay. He ran back into the house, and I followed him to the front door and waited for him to emerge. When he came back out he threw my bag into my hands, which I caught after fumbling with it, and he locked the door behind us. Then turned to me with a smile and bright eyelights.

“I THINK HE SAID HE’D BE IN THE MAIN PART OF TOWN, SO FOLLOW ME!” Blue said, then started walking quickly down the sidewalk. 

I hurried after him the best I could, but even though he stopped every few minutes to make sure I was following, I was still struggling to keep up. By the time we got to main street, I was exhausted , yet Blue seemed like he hadn’t even broken a sweat. When I finally recovered enough to observe my surroundings, I was shocked to see so many monsters just milling about. Even more surprising was the few groups of humans that were dotting the street, all of them with cameras and occasionally taking pictures of the shops or even the monsters. 

“You Alright, Rus?” Blue pulled on my jacket sleeve, breaking me out of my thoughts and I saw a bit of worry on his face.

“‘M fine, just- there’s a lot of monsters here.” I responded, and internally cursed myself for stating the obvious. 

Blue seemed to accept that answer, holding onto my sleeve as he started to walk through the crowd. For awhile I wasn’t sure where we were going, until I saw a boney arm through the crowd. Blue seemed to see it too, letting go of my arm to run through the crowd. I started to follow him, only to get pushed back. I tried looking around for a way to get through only to flinch as I was grabbed and yanked through the crowd. I turned my head with magic gathering at my fingertips to be face-to-face with-- myself.

“NYEH-HEH-HEH! IT’S GREAT TO FINALLY MEET YOU!” He bellowed, and I felt my face relax marginally, even feeling a slight grin form. “I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I ASSUME YOU ARE THE NEW FRIEND BLUE MADE, CORRECT?” 

“YEP! AND I THOUGHT WE COULD SHOW HIM AROUND TOWN!” Blue responded, and I nodded in agreement, not quite sure what to say.

“AN EXCELLENT IDEA!” Papyrus boomed, grabbing my arm. “I THINK I KNOW JUST WHERE TO START!”

I followed Papyrus as he held onto my hand, thankfully not with a crushing grip like Blue had. He and Blue conversed as we walked, while I took it all in.

‘This is what it’s like to be Tale-verse…’ I mused, looking at the many stores and lively people as they enjoyed themselves. I was envious. I wasn’t paying much attention to the other two, so I was startled when I ran into Papyrus.

“DO YOU LIKE SCIENCE-Y THINGS, FELL-ME?” He asked, and I saw Blue looking curiously to us as well.

“I guess i do,” I said, but Papyrus didn’t seem very pleased by my response.

“WELL, WHAT SORT OF THINGS DO YOU LIKE?” He asked again, this time putting more emphasis onto his question. I felt my soulbeat start to pick up a bit, but I ignored it to think for a moment.

‘What do i like?’ I asked myself, and then looked around us to see more business-type buildings surrounding us. Most of them had the types of buildings they were in big bold letters on their front, with monsters and a few humans going in and out of them. Then I turned and saw the building we were in front of had ‘LAB’ on the front of it. Then I understood his earlier question.

“I… i guess i like science-y things.” I finally said, though even I could tell that it wasn’t much of an answer, coming out as more of an unsure question. 

Papyrus sighed, his face losing its happy glow for a moment, but returning quickly. He started taking me along with him past the Lab and down the street with Blue following behind us.

“HOW ABOUT WE DO SOMETHING ELSE?” Papyrus suggested.

“Sure.” I agreed.

Papyrus kept walking, seeming to be thinking of where to go. Blue then ran ahead of him with a wide smile on his face.

“WHAT IF WE WENT OUT TO LUNCH!” He exclaimed, “I BET MTT’S PLACE WOULD LET US IN!”

“THAT’S A GREAT IDEA!” He replied, and they both started to walk faster making me have to hurry to catch up to them.

Within a few minutes we arrived at a building that seemed to almost glow, the name on the building read ‘MTT Restaurant’. Despite not knowing who MTT was, I had a feeling he was similar to the Napstaton I knew. When we entered the building, the person at the front smiled upon seeing the Tale-verses I was with.

“Table for two today?” she asked, then paused when noticing me, her smile dropping instantly. “Uh, for three?”

“YES PLEASE.” Blue spoke, his smile more forced.

She nodded, putting on a fake smile and leading us into the dining area, and to a table that was close to what looked to be stage. Papyrus let go of my hand at our table and sat down, patting the seat next to him for me to sit there. Blue sat on the other side, already looking towards the stage where a couple monsters were setting up. I took my seat, and a monster came out from the curtains with a microphone in their hand.

“Welcome. Our first act of the night will be comedy.” They spoke, an obvious fake smile on their face, “so please welcome, Sans.”

I heard Papyrus and Blue clap next to me, and I tensed as sans exited the curtain. He waved to the other cheering patrons with a grin, but he stopped upon seeing me amongst the crowd. He quickly recovered, and took the mic from the previous monster.

“Seems like we got quite a crowd ‘ere.” he said, “and i see my bro decided to come see just how _punny_ his big bro was.”

While a majority of the room laughed, at least a little bit, Papyrus sighed. 

“Now that i got a read of the room, i see most of ya think i’m a _numbskull_.” And the room laughed again. “Heh, some of you have a _punny bone._ ” 

“Anyway, i’ve got a story to tell all of ya. I’m sure many of you know ‘bout those other monsters, right? Well the other day, I wuz at Grillbz. Ya know, that _hot_ bartender at the bar a few blocks away?” That earned a few chuckles from around us, but I instantly knew where this story was going and felt a growing sense of dread as he continued. “So, i’m sitting there and this other monster comes in, scars and edge practically emanating from ‘im. He sits next to me and orders a drink, and i get a _feeling in my bones_.”

That’s when I realize this isn’t about me, but I get the feeling that this doesn’t end well. Sans seems to notice me leaving, his grin widened when I stood up. Leaving the restaurant, I stood near the side of the building and leaned against it as I sifted through my pockets, finally finding what I was looking for. I pulled out the box and opened it, only to find it empty. I sighed, grabbing my lighter that was still in my pocket. That’s when I heard a cough from beside me, and flinched upon seeing Blue standing there.

“Sans Isn’t Really… The Best Comedian.” he said, running his fingers on his bandanna. “Don’t Worry, Papyrus Doesn’t Blame You For Leaving.”

“That’s good at least.” I replied.

It was quiet for a moment, only the sounds of the wind and muffled laughter from inside. Then I heard the sounds of clothing rustling and looked to see Blue hold out a box of monster cigarettes.

“You’re Like My Brother.” he smiled fondly, “He Smokes Too, But Only When He Gets Stressed. And You Seemed Like You Needed One…”

“Heh, thanks lil’ Blue.” I took one from the box and lit it, inhaling the calming magic it was infused with, then exhaling. “Why’d you have those anyway?”

“It’s A… Heh, Papyrus Thing I Guess.” he responded, looking down at his feet as he put the box away.

I nodded in understanding, continuing to smoke for awhile until it was over. I put it out against the wall and dropped it on the ground, putting my hands in my pockets.

“Do ya think Papyrus would mind if we left? I dunno if I want to go back in there.”

Blue shook his head no, and then led the way back to his house. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter fought me the whole way through. I'm not satisfied with the ending, but I can't think of any other way to have it go. Next chapter, if it all goes well, will be a better chapter.  
> Extra stuff: I knew I wanted Sans to show up again, but I couldn't figure out where exactly, so that happened. I thought about having them meet Alphys, as in Undertale, and go inside the Lab but I couldn't figure out how that would happen. Papyrus' sigh was my pain at writing the ending. Blue saying that "it's a Papyrus thing" was a spur of the moment idea, but I think I love the implication of it. It was also inspired by quite a few authors who write really great Papyrus-centric stuff.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates will be monthly/bi-monthly. I'm not completely sure how I want this to go, so comments are appreciated.  
> I have a tumblr: silverdragonms.tumblr.com  
> And now also an imagines blog: silverdragon-imagines-blog.tumblr.com


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